Banshees
Banshees are special spiritual human women in Irish mythology, who have the supernatural power to sense and predict when someone is about to die. As a result, they are considered harbingers of death and are often referred to as the "Wailing Women" due to the fact that they unconsciously scream to announce when someone has died, usually those killed by supernatural forces, though their scream can also be used for other purposes. They are usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Other World. These women predict death through premonitions, which can be auditory, visual, or both, depending on the power level of the Banshee in question. When a Banshee has a premonition, the sounds and sights they perceive indicate various factors that will either lead to or directly cause the death of someone in their vicinity, which are usually people harmed by the supernatural or someone the Banshee knows. However, these premonitions are not always literal and can require a certain amount of interpretation. Additionally, since the future is always in flux, a death that a Banshee has predicted may not come to pass if the events or cause of the death can be averted using the knowledge gained from the Banshee's premonition. This can be a very useful power for Banshees who are members of a group, as it gives them a team of people to help them prevent the foretold deaths. The aos sí are variously believed to be the survivals of pre-Christian Gaelic deities, spirits of nature, or the ancestors. Sightings of Banshees have been reported as recently as 1948. In Irish legend, a banshee wails nearby if someone is about to die. There are particular families who are believed to have banshees attached to them, and whose cries herald the death of a member of that family. The most common surname attached to the banshee was Mac. They were also associated with the Airlie clan. Accounts of banshees go back as far as 1380 with the publication of the Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh (Triumps of Torlough) by Seean mac Craith. Mentions of banshees can also be found in Norman literature of that time. Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey, often having long, pale hair. Other stories portray banshees as dressed in green, red, or black with a grey cloak. Who says banshees are dead it could be a gift your hearing tuned to a different level of the earth compared to everyone else. Powers and Abilities Banshees have demonstrated a wide range of powers, which seems to suggest that, while some powers are common among Banshees, they still each use the supernatural energy that flows through them in different ways, causing them to have unique power sets. However, many of these powers can also be taught by one Banshee to another, suggesting that there is potential for a Banshee to have every power. The powers Banshees have demonstrated thus far in the series include the following: * Harbinger of Death: Banshees cannot only predict death, they can identify where death occurred, and sense someone's death becoming aware of their passing away just by 'feeling' it. Essentially, they can tell if someone is going to die or is already dead. When this ability is usually used, it is used subconsciously. The banshee will go into some sort of trance and head towards the location that their drawn to. Over time and practice, the banshee won't go into a trance and will just know where to go. The ability in general can he harnessed and when someone close to the banshee dies, said banshee will feel their death. ** Death Sense: As harbingers of death, Banshees can sense when someone has died or is about to die. This is usually accompanied by a trance-like state that draws the Banshee to the location of someone who has recently died or who is near-death, though, with experience and training, the Banshee can learn to remain somewhat conscious during this event. ** Clairaudience: The ears of a Banshee are naturally tuned to levels of the universe that only they can hear. This gives them an ability to discern details of a person's death (or impending death) through the sounds they can perceive which no one else can. These sounds can include voices (such as whispering or screaming), gunshots, electricity, buzzing, growling, fighting, etc. *** Enhanced Hearing: While Banshees do not have a sense of hearing that is as heightened as a Werewolf or other shapeshifter, which is said to be 100 times more powerful than that of a human, Banshees do seem to possess hearing that is slightly more powerful than their human counterparts. ** Premonitions: Banshees possess the power to experience premonitions that allow them to sense a person's death, which usually allow them to discern how a person dies, where they die, and/or what will cause the death in the first place. This power is most often used as an extension of their power of clairaudience, as the supernatural phenomena that they can sense with their enhanced hearing can take the form of auditory premonitions of an impending death. However, as a Banshee's powers grow, their premonitions evolve from being purely auditory to often being visual as well, making it easier for them to interpret what their premonition is trying to tell them. *** Astral Premonitions: In some cases, a Banshee's power of premonition can advance to the point where they can astral project themselves into their visual premonitions, allowing them to pause and examine the details of the vision as well as interact within it. ** Divination: Banshees are often mistaken for and compared to psychics, due in part to their ability to use various forms of divination as a tool to gain information about the death and danger they are foretelling. There are a wide variety of means through which a Banshee can use divination, many of which also involve the use of their other powers, such as clairaudience. The forms of divination used by Banshees on the series include: *** Sound Divination: Using their power of clairaudience, some Banshees can divine for information by using sound vibrations to trigger their ability to perceive supernatural energy. *** Psychometry: Some Banshees have the ability to discern information about a person's death by making physical contact with a person or with an object belonging to the person in question. The absence of any kind of divination can also give a Banshee some idea of what is going on. *** Automatic Writing: Some Banshees are able to gain information by going into a trance-like state and freely writing or typing without conscious thought or awareness. ** Harbinger Connection: All Banshees possess an almost psychic or telepathic connection to each other and to Hellhounds, who are also harbingers of death, which they can use to communicate with one another, regardless of how far away they are. However, this is an advanced Banshee power that needs to be consciously activated to use it; it is easier to utilize this ability if the harbingers in question already have an established relationship, such as being friends or allies. *** Banshee Connection *** Hellhound Connection ** Piercing Sonic Banshee Scream: A Banshee's most important and valuable power is their voice, which they can use to achieve various effects when wailing or screaming. This is a power that all Banshees possess, though some of the specific aspects and applications of this power often need to be consciously learned before the Banshee can use them effectively. Banshees scream when they are experiencing a premonition of death. It is revealed by Oracle the purpose of the Scream is for banshees to drown out all other surrounding so that they can focus. Additionally, the Banshee can unleash screams of a inhuman amplitude, capable of shattering glass and causing blood vessels to burst. A Banshee can give a piercing scream that is loud enough that it may be uncomfortable for some kinds of supernatural creatures, such as a werewolf, to listen to. *** Death Announcement: When a Banshee has either received a premonition that indicates that someone has died or will die shortly, or when they have just come out of a fugue state to find that they have located a recently-deceased body, a Banshee will scream at the top of her voice, both as a sort of lament for the dead as well as an alert to others that a death has occurred. This is almost always an unconscious or instinctual reaction to death and not something that the Banshee can actively control. *** Premonition Enhancement: A Banshee's scream can also be used to enhance their power of Clairaudience auditory premonitions by clearing out ambient noises from their ears so that they can focus only on the auditory aspects of the premonition they are receiving. *** Concussive Scream: The most powerful use of a Banshee's scream or wail is as an offensive weapon, though this, too, is an advanced Banshee power that often (but not always) requires experience and training to use. When a Banshee's wail is given both focus and direction, it can produce so much power and force that it can shatter bulletproof glass, overload electronics, shatter skulls and eardrums, and even create concussive blasts strong enough to throw grown men across a room. This power can be focused further by the Banshee channeling their scream through their hands to push people and other objects backward. However, Banshees do not need to emit a full scream for their voice to affect their environment; simply speaking in a highly emotional state, regardless of the volume and pitch, can cause objects to shake and disorient people around them, especially if said Banshee is powerful or experienced enough. *** Sonic Scream Wave: Banshees in defense can scream and guide there voice as a bullet with their hands and send people flying ** Curses: Legends claim that those who try to track or capture the banshee will be cursed and the wailing fairies' power is no mere matter. Her curses are passed down through generations. Those who pick up a banshee's silver comb or try to steal the comb and or her beetle will suffer similar fates. ** Super Speed: According to the myths of Clare and Galway, the banshee can glide quicker than human feet can walk. In Mayo the banshee hops like a magpie and can run faster than a horse at full stretch. ** Hypnotic Voice: The ability to hypnotize other beings with one's voice, putting them in a trance-like state and influencing their thoughts and actions. ** Death Sensing: The ability to sense upcoming death in others. ** Supernatural Immunity: Since Banshees are humans who access the supernatural rather than fully supernatural creatures who are ruled by mystical forces, Banshees are immune to the effects of many supernatural phenomena. A bite from an Alpha Werewolf will neither kill them nor turn them, provided the wounds from the bite aren't fatal. Likewise, Kanima venom will not paralyze Banshees or otherwise have an effect on them whatsoever. Also, Banshees can wield rowan wood and mountain ash like any normal human and are unaffected by barriers made of it, which would weaken and trap any other truly supernatural creature. ** [[Telepathy|'Telepathy']]:''' It appears that at least some Banshees possess a form of telepathy. *** '''Banshee Whispers: Some people say that banshees ears are on a higher frequency that other beings. They hear whispers or other particular noises in their heads that only they can receive and translate. The whispers they hear are the whispers of their own kind. Fellow banshees can use this communicate with each other. ** Precognition: The Banshee is able to foretell of impending death, singing and weeping with such a sad tone that the people are unable to mistake the dire warning that she conveys. ** Intangibility: Her incorporeal form allows her to pass through physical barriers with ease. ** [[Teleportation|'Teleportation']]:' The banshee are able to move in the blink of an eye to other locations. ** [[Invisibility|'Invisibility]]:''' The Banshee can become invisible to the living. ** '''Death Touch: It is possible that the Banshee’s touch could have a dangerous, perhaps even fatal, effect on the living. However, this has never been proven, as she seems to be a pacifistic spirit. ** Banshee Aura: It appears that some Banshees possess the ability to imbue their environment with an aura that allows them to have unprecedented control over it as well as giving them the power to affect other non-Banshees through it. *** Hallucination Induction: One aspect of a Banshee aura is the ability to cause non-Banshees (even shapeshifters such as Werewolves and Werecoyotes) to have extremely vivid visual and auditory hallucinations. *** Apparition Projection: Another aspect of the Banshee aura is the ability to create apparitions. *** Psychokinesis ** Supernatural Sensitivity: Banshees, as conduits of supernatural forces, can sense, seek out, and identify its energy, though how they are able to do this varies among individuals. Weaknesses * Possession: Banshees are vulnerable to possession by a spiritual culprit through supernatural means. *'Mortality:' Aside from their magical abilities, Banshees are mortal like any other human and can be killed in the same manner. *'Piercing Scream:' The piercing screams of a Banshee can cause another Banshee's ear bleed. *'Banshee Powers:' Without the knowledge of knowing that they are a Banshee, one can think they have gone insane, therefore become insane. *'Iron: '''The banshee may be able to be harmed by cold-forged iron. *'Salt:' Salt repels the Banshee, as it is considered to be pure and anathema to the denizens of the spirit world. Any other methods of protecting oneself from the Banshee are unknown at this point. *'Bones: '''If the Banshee was once human (not all Banshees are ghosts), she may be able to be put to rest by finding her earthly remains, and then salting and burning them. Category:Supernatural Creatures Category:Shapeshifters Category:Species